Autonomia institucional e dimensões da internacionalização de Instituições de Ensino Superior brasileiras

Abstract

The present dissertation explores the relationship between institutional autonomy and the internationalization of Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is assumed that the sustainability of the internationalization process of an HEI is influenced by the configuration of its autonomy. From theoretical perspective, it is expected to understand the HEIs within the institutional theory and, in management terms, that institutional managers can broaden their knowledge about the institutional structure, the environmental context and the use and attraction of resources. This dissertation contains three chapters in the format of academic papers, besides the presentation and conclusion. The second chapter consists of a theoretical-empirical article based on the systematic literature review method, carried out on the ISI-Web of Knowledge and Scopus bases. The results showed the existence of several factors associated with institutional autonomy and internationalization in this context, highlighting the influence of external environmental factors. Organizational and structural factors were also found. Among the organizational elements about autonomy, the literature converges. Regarding internationalization, the attempt to establish prescriptive processes that support manager´s decision is perceptible. In this sense, both public and private HEIs are increasingly adapting their structures to more marketable management that can compete in this complex and multidimensional reality. The third chapter presents a theoretical-empirical article based on the empirical validation of experts from nine public HEIs contemplated by CAPES PrInt in 2018, through structured questionnaire and content analysis. The results showed that institutional autonomy presents itself in its academic, financial and organizational form, with several limitations due to regulatory environment conditions. By relating autonomy to internationalization, the influence of academic autonomy on internationalization initiatives was attested in public HEIs. At first, internationalization is often part of the individual initiative of teachers and researchers to be formally incorporated by HEI. It is necessary to understand institutional capacities and motivations in order to consolidate internationalization, which will allow Brazilian HEIs to design flexible and sustainable strategies that expand their competitive conditions. The fourth and final chapter is also a theoretical-empirical article that discusses the interrelationships between autonomy and dimensions of internationalization of a private Brazilian HEI. The results show in private HEIs the organizational and financial autonomy is more expressive for internationalization compared to the academic type, due to the lack of institutional direction. It was found that internationalization occurs formally as a strategic institutional action. In the case of these institutions, the institutional profile (research or market) determines the way in which internationalization is conceived. In market-oriented HE...